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Gundam

The sci-fi robot series by the Sunrise ventures, Gundam, is creating waves among the Japanese people. Youngsters and adults are taking equal interest in the series. The Gundam series is about giant robots that are called mobile suits. The Gundam series is not new for Japanese people as it first appeared as an anime comic series in the late 1970s. The comic series was made in to a TV series in 1979 and it was its broadcast on television that led to skyrocketing of its popularity. Soon, Gundam merchandise filled up Japanese stores and it was later converted into a cult following.

The popularity of Gundam series is evident from numbers. It has already grossed 80 billion yen in terms of revenue and is still growing stringer. The merchandise alone has clocked a sale of 19 Bn yen in 2014. The height of popularity of the Gundam series can be adjudged from the fact that an international Gundam society was formed to carry out academic studies on the Gundam series.

The Gundam series has an interesting development history. The series was initially conceptualized with young boys as target audience. However, as the production was done, the producers realized that it has potential to attract audience from across age group. Some aspects of the series were then reconfigured so that it could become even more appealing to a mature audience. Some people associated with the production team say that after realizing the true potential of the series it was decided to make it little bit more violent and action packed by making war as the back ground for the series.

The Gundam series has a very simple narrative in which various warring faction fight with each other. Human pilots drive their robot suits in the battle and almost all the episodes are about the heroics performed by the pilots. Gundam series has been in existence for more than 35 years now and in that time it has captured the interest of more than three generation of Japanese. The biggest reward that it has brought to its producers is the merchandise sale that it continues to generate. As we said earlier, even today it generates around 19 Bn yen per year in merchandise sale. The Gundam model kit, which is a robot assembly kit, has been ranked as the no 1 toy for kids, between the age of 5 and 10 for 8 years out of 15 years, since the award was constituted.